Recent Reads: Wildlife Photography
Full title is Wildlife Photography: On Safari with your DSLR: Equipment, Techniques, Workflow by Uwe Skrzypczak.
Picked this up on impulse at our local library, neglecting to read the full title. Often, even if something is completely out of my scope--as most photography books are--I can glean a few helpful takeaways on fundamental concepts, composition or whatnot. Not really the case with this one.
Uwe, the author, is admittedly an accomplished photographer. Yes, there was loads of information presented. He covers technical aspects of 'on the road' workflow, specific requirements for equipment, exposure and autofocus, logistics of transporting gear, image editing and so on.
Much of the book read like a travel guide. Beyond cameras, he talked about education and habitat, planning your trip, conditions on the road, where to stay, specific geographic areas, and migrations and mating seasons. Many of the images inside were very graphic...be it predators ripping a bloodied carcass to shreds or animals mating. Suffice it to say there was a lot of jungle love *cue Morris Day and The Time* going on. The images I found most striking in the book got nary a mention, while others that were far less impressive seemed to warrant florid explanations by Uwe.
If you are foreign to Africa and plan on visiting for the first time for the sole purpose to photograph animals, then this book will no doubt be extremely helpful. For the average person without an exorbitant camera budget and not wishing to go on safari, it's probably not for you.
Rating (for my needs): D
Picked this up on impulse at our local library, neglecting to read the full title. Often, even if something is completely out of my scope--as most photography books are--I can glean a few helpful takeaways on fundamental concepts, composition or whatnot. Not really the case with this one.
Uwe, the author, is admittedly an accomplished photographer. Yes, there was loads of information presented. He covers technical aspects of 'on the road' workflow, specific requirements for equipment, exposure and autofocus, logistics of transporting gear, image editing and so on.
Much of the book read like a travel guide. Beyond cameras, he talked about education and habitat, planning your trip, conditions on the road, where to stay, specific geographic areas, and migrations and mating seasons. Many of the images inside were very graphic...be it predators ripping a bloodied carcass to shreds or animals mating. Suffice it to say there was a lot of jungle love *cue Morris Day and The Time* going on. The images I found most striking in the book got nary a mention, while others that were far less impressive seemed to warrant florid explanations by Uwe.
If you are foreign to Africa and plan on visiting for the first time for the sole purpose to photograph animals, then this book will no doubt be extremely helpful. For the average person without an exorbitant camera budget and not wishing to go on safari, it's probably not for you.
Rating (for my needs): D